Re-Growth
by blakes8th
Summary: For all those who liked 'The Growth'


Re- Growth

Disclaimer: New Tricks isn't mine. But if your not using them at the moment...

A little bit of fun.

Rated T to be safe, one naughty word and some gratuitous kissing.

Set in series 9

Follows 'The Growth' You should read that one first for this to make sense.

Gerry hated stakeouts. Hours of sitting and waiting, watching for the suspect to something to incriminate him or herself, or in this case for the suspect to do anything at all.

It had been the same for five days now. They were sitting in a van opposite a seedy nightclub, watching for the owner to appear. The UCOS team had been re-investigating the murder of a small time drug dealer, seven years before. At the time, the police investigation concluded that he was killed by a customer in a deal gone wrong. They hadn't wasted an awful lot of time trying to find the killer, and had quickly shelved the case.

But now, new evidence had come to light, that this particular piece of pond slime had worked for a bigger piece of pond slime who happened to run this miserable excuse for a nightclub. They had followed the evidence, doing a proper job of investigating this time around and concluded that Dennis Rapley, the big player in this case had had his dealer killed for skimming money off him. They had the warrants needed to make the arrest, and they had the evidence in place to prosecute him, now all they needed was to find the man himself. They had turned up at his home, only to find that he had already left for his club. They had turned up at the club, Gerry, Brian and Steve had gone inside only be stonewalled by the man's equally seedy lawyer who pointed out that the warrant didn't give them access to the private areas of the night club. Since then the word lawsuit had been thrown at them, effectivly tieing their hands.

So the team had been camped outside for the last week, taking it in turns to watch for Rapley to come out. But it seemed the man was prepared for a siege, sending his burley minders out for food and provisions, while living in the flat above the club. They had set up in an old transit, diguised as a window cleaners van, watching through the badly tinted rear windows. The inside of the van was littered with old coffee cups and takeaway containers, it stank of smoke and perfume, Gerry being unable to stand outside to smoke in case he was seen, and Sandra trying to get rid of the smell of smoke. Magazines and newspapers had piled up and the van basically had the look of a student bedsit.

At this moment, Gerry and Brian were on watch, Brian was on window duty, while Gerry read the top gear magazine for about the third time, hoping that he may have missed something the first two times. They were waiting for Steve, who would take Brian's place at eight o/clock, then three hours later, Sandra would come and take Gerry's place. They had worked out this six hour staggered shift so that no two people would be together for more than three hours at a time. The last thing they needed was another murder. There had been other's on occasion, Strickland had done a few hours, and also Emily and Stuart had been drafted in, but the wait was beginning to wear on them all.

Gerry threw down his magazine with a huff.

"This is bloody pointless. Why can't we just have the drug squad raid the place."

"Because.." Brian replied, "Rapley knows we want him, and they will have made sure there's nothing dodgy in there. We can't force Rapley to leave his flat, and no judge is going to let us walk in there and get him after the cock-up with the warrant."

"I know, I know. It's just that this is so pointless." He lit up, ingoring the dirty look Brian threw him. "I mean, what does Rapley think is going to happen? Does he think we're just going to give up and go away?"

"He probably reckons we're going to get fed up, then either do something daft which lets him get off on a technicality, or get so complacent that he can slip away without us noticing. You've had your three drags, now put it out."

"If he hasn't already." Gerry grumbled, carefully extinguishing the cigarette and putting it back in the packet. He had made a deal with the other's that he could light up in the van anytime he wanted, but he was limited to three puffs, then he had to put it out.

They both jumped when the van door opened and Steve came in, carrying a tray of takeaway coffee. Sandra got in too, wafting the smoke away with a sour look at Gerry.

"What you doing here Guv?" He asked, "You're not due back for another three hours." She shrugged.

"Nothing else to do this evening. No change here?" The other two shook their heads.

"Here, Brian I got you one. Drink up before you get off home, it's bitter out there." Steve handed the coffee around. Suddenly there was a tap at the door. They all looked at each other puzzled. The door slid open and DAC Strickland hopped up inside the van, sliding the door shut behind him.

"Hello Sir." Sandra was the first to find her voice.

"I was on my way to get something to eat, I thought I would stop by and see if whoever was here needed anything. I didn't expect a party though, cosy in here isn't it."

"Cosy isn't the word I'd have chosen." Brian grumbled. Sandra smiled, Gerry and Steve both chuckled, they knew that with Brian's OCD this van was probably his idea of what hell would be like.

"Has there been any movement?" Strickland asked,

"Nah, nothing. He knows we're here." Gerry grumbled.

"And he's not daft. He knows as long as he stays in there, he's safe." Brian added. Sandra could sense something was off with the DAC.

"What?" She asked, suspiciously. He sighed and gave her a sheepish smile.

"I can't get anything past you anymore can I?" He took a deep breath. "The power's that be are putting pressure on me to call this surveilance to a halt. They are questioning the value of tieing up an entire unit to what they see as a pointless venture."

"POINTLESS!" Sandra's exclamation made him flinch, he saw the other's all bristle at his words. "How can bringing a nasty piece of work like Rapley to justice be considered pointless? What is it we are supposed to do then?"

"Maybe we're only supposed to work cases that are PC" Brian agreed.

"Yeah, a dead drug dealer doesn't matter. Unless your his Mum." Gerry added.

"Do you want me to go and let them know we're off, so he can leave for spain." Steve suggested. Robert closed his eyes in defeat.

"I didn't say I thought this case is pointless. I have people I have to answer to as well you know. I've already pushed my luck, on this case. The UCOS overtime budget for this month is gone, I've been borrowing hours from other units. We need to find a way to flush him out. Sandra felt a little bit guilty, she gave him a smile.

"Sorry. It's just that he knows we can't touch him. The bastard is laughing at us." The boys all nodded in agreement. They really wanted to get this guy off the streets.

"I know. We're sure there is no other way in or out?" He asked in frustration.

"Only the side door on the alleyway, but that comes out over there," Brian pointed to an opening between the buildings about twenty feet from the main door, which was guarded by two burly doormen. "It's a dead end, this is the only way out."

"Is the door guarded?" He asked, Sandra recognised that tone of voice, he had an idea.

"No, it's locked though." Gerry answered.

"Only a yale lock, not difficult to open if you have the right tools." Steve added.

"Do you?" Robert's eyebrows shot up. Steve looked at Sandra, who nodded at him.

"I may carry a few bits and bobs, just in case." He admitted. Robert held out his hand, Steve pulled his little set of lock pick tools out and handed them to his bosses boss. Robert sighed.

"I really don't want to know, do I?"

"No sir, I don't believe you do." He answered.

"Show me how." Robert told the scot. The others in the van all looked at each other in shock. Steve took one of the tools and gave Strickland a brief demonstration.

"Sir?" Sandra questioned.

"Gerry, Brian and Steve have all been seen, but the minders don't know me." He took his black over coat off, then his suit jacket and removed his tie, he undid the top button of his shirt and ran his hands through his hair, losing the immaculate style, replacing it with a more relaxed look. He slipped the over coat back on. He took his warrant card out of his pocket and handed it to Brian. "Sandra, are you up to a bit of under cover work?" He grinned. She cottoned on to his plan, mussing her hair slightly and undoing the top button of her blouse, she handed her warrant to Brian.

"I take it this isn't strictly by-the-book." She frowned.

"Not entirely." He agreed. "I don't suppose anyone would have any alcohol, seeing as you're all on duty." He looked around them. Gerry coughed and put his hand inside his jacket, pulling out a hip flask.

"It's just a bit of brandy, in case it gets cold." He protested at the withering look Sandra threw him. Robert laughed and accepted the flask, he took a sip and slooshed it about his mouth before swallowing it, he handed it to Sandra who did the same.

"Right, if this works, when the fireworks start, Gerry and Steve get to the front door, Brian, you come to the back, bring our warrants. As soon as we leave the van, call for some uniform back-up. Ready?" He looked at Sandra who nodded. The got out of the van. The three left behind clustered to the back window to watch. Sandra and Robert were walking up the other side of the road, gone were the high ranking police officers, in their place two people who it seemed had been on the drink and were looking to extend their fun. Sandra was laughing and swaying slightly, Robert had put his arm around her shoulders and was also walking as though he had had a skinful. The two were chatting, and Sandra kept laughing at whatever Robert was saying. Steve raised his eyebrows.

"They're good." He admitted. They watched as the two crossed the road to the two doormen.

/

"Is their room inside for us?" Robert cheerfully asked the first doorman.

"Sorry mate." He replied in a gruff voice. "Members only tonight."

"Oh, that's a shame. How do we become members?" Robert laughed.

"Sorry. Not going to happen. It's a private party."

"Aww." Sandra giggled. Robert gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Sorry sweetheart, it seems we're going to have to find somewhere else."

"But I'm tired of walking." Sandra whined. She made a display of leaning into Robert. They walked to the alley, aware that the doormen were watching them closely. They stopped at the corner, and Robert made a point of pressing Sandra up against the wall. He put his hands either side of her face, claiming her mouth, kissing her in a way which left nothing to the imagination. Sandra wrapped her arms around his shoulders and rubbed herself against him. He slid one hand down to her bottom, pulling her against him. The first doorman laughed and said something to the other which made him laugh. They broke apart, Robert started to guide Sandra down the alley.

"Hey! You're not allowed down there." The doorman shouted. Robert stopped and turned to him.

"Oh come on! Give us ten minutes." He pleaded. The doorman laughed.

"Go on then. I didn't see nothing." He went back to his mate at the door, saying something and indecating with his thumb over his shoulder. The other laughed and made some bawdy remark which made them both laugh. Robert and Sandra went down the alley, stopping at the door. Robert quickley put Steve's lesson into practise and the door opened. The slipped inside, Robert grinned and pointed to the thing he had hoped he would find. On the wall was a fire alarm. Sandra grinned as he hit the alarm, they bolted back out of the door as the alarms started and the sprinkler system kicked in. They made their way to the top of the alley, where they saw people filing out of the building, soaked by the sprinklers.

"Now we just wait." He whispered in her ear.

/

In the van, the three men were watching the display in shock. Steve looked at the other two men.

"Do they do that often?" He inquired.

"She snogged him in the pub not so long ago." Gerry answered.

"But that was to do with a beard." Brian added. Steve looked from one to the other in confusion.

"But that's not just a snog. I've arrested people for doing less in public." He exclaimed. Suddenly they heard the shriek of an alarm, people started to file out of the club, sodden by the sprinklers. Brian looked at the others, a grin on his face.

"Bloody genius!" He exclaimed.

"C'mon, we're up." Gerry shouted and they left the van and made their way to their designated places. Brian found Sandra and Robert at the corner of the alley where he handed them their warrants.

"Bloody genius!" He echoed. Just then the door opened, the man they had been waiting for shot out of the building, followed by his minders. In a second he was pinned to the floor by Sandra and Robert, and was being read his rights as a group of uniforms arrived to take care of the bodyguards. The group all watched as Rapley and his crew were loaded into a police van and driven to the station. Sandra turned to her team, a huge grin on her face.

"I think we deserve a celebratory drink." She told them, linking her arm through Robert's.

"That was some show you put on for us." Steve observed. She smiled, seeing the shocked looks on her boys faces, she locked eyes with her boss and smiled warmly at him.

"Oh, and no beard is definately better."

finis


End file.
